Car-coupling.



R. E. L. JANNEY. GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1909.

Patented Mar. 8,1910.

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GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN, 15, 1909. 95 1 1'88, Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

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R. E. L. JANNEY.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1909.

Patented Mar.8,1910.

.3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. L. JANNEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN STEELFOUNDRIES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 15, 1909.

Patented Mar. 8, 1910. Serial No. 472,490.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. L. J ANNEY, of Chicago, county of Cook,State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Couplers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of couplers of the J anney type whichemploy a pivoted knuckle with a lock therefor, and a lifter foroperating the lock.

Specifically described, my invention comprises a coupler having a headand pivoted knuckle, a look, a lifter, and a knuckle opener formedintegral with the look.

It is the general object of my invention therefore to provide a couplerwhich shall have a strong and substantial lock wholly inclosed withinthe coupler head, which shall be maintained in position and which shallallow the knuckle to be closed without being again moved and lifted, andwhich shall have a strong and substantial means for lifting the lock;which shall also be provided with knuckle opening means; such openingmeans being made a part of the lock. These ob jects I attain in acoupler in which the uncoupling mechanism is adapted to the M. G. B.coupler standard type of chain and clevis.

In my construction I employ a combined lock and opener, and a separatelifter but so construct and arrange these parts with reference to eachother and the tail of the knuckle that when the lifter is disengagedfrom the lock-set by the opening of the knuckle the lifter will drop toits original position and so remain during the whole movement of theknuckle, while the lock will remain supported by the knuckle tail.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a partial section showing theknuckle closed and locked and the lifter down. Fig. 2 is a similar Viewshowing the lock released and the lifter seated on the lock-set. Fig. 3is a similar View showing the knuckle open, the lock carried by the tailof the knuckle and the lifter ready to drop to its original position.Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44, of Fig. 5, showing the lock in itsnormal locked position. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on the line5-5, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 5,looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 is the coupler headprovided with the usual guard arm, 11, the knuckle, 12,

and the knuckle pin, 13. The knuckle has a tail, 14, the enlarged orbulged portion, 14, and the cam surface, 14, upon its lower rear edge.The lifter and lock-set means comprise the part, 15, having the lockcarrying ledge, 15*, and the downwardly and forwardly extending foot, 15the latter providing the lock-set means.

In Fig. 3 is shown the customary chain, 16, and lifter, 17. s

The lock and knuckle thrower, 18 which forms the principal feature of myinvention, is a block of polygonal form having a downwardly extendingand forwardly curved foot, 18*, the front lower portion, 18 of which isformed somewhat at an angle to the face of the extension and affords acam to assist in throwing the knuckle as shown 1n Fig. 3. Upon the rearof the look a slot, 18, is formed to receive the lifter, 15, as shown inFig. 5. Upon the outer side of the lock is another slot, 18 the centralportion thereof being contracted and the upper and lower portionsflared. The bottom of the lock, 18 is formed at an angle to thehorizontal for the purpose of tilting the lock to prevent creeping andto afford a cam which assists in the lock-setting.

Upon the interior of the coupler head is a vertical rib or guideway,10*, and a diagonal ledge, 10, the latter forming the support for thelook when the latter is in the locked position of Figs. 1 and 4. Anotherledge, 10, is provided within the coupler head having a beveled orcut-away lower front edge, 10. It will be seen by reference to Figs. 1and 4 that when in normal locked position the lock is tilted backwardly,the ledge, 10*, upon which it rests being at an angle to the horizontal,and that in this position the rear upper corner, 18 of the lock isbeneath the ledge, 10, of the coupler head; and consequently movementfrom the forward end of the lock will be resisted both by the binding ofthe edges of the slot, 18, upon the rib, 10 and by the contact of thepart, 18 with the ledge, 10, whereby creeping of the lock is prevented.

The operation is as follows: Assuming the parts to be in the positionshown in Fig. 1, which is the normal position, an upward movement of thelifter, 15, will carry with it the lock and opener, 18, the inclined orcam surface, 18 riding upon the ledge, 15

of the lifter and thereby drawing the lifter inward until the foot, 15",rests upon the lock-set ledge, 10, of the coupler head. The parts willthen be in the position shown in Fig. 2, the lifter being on the lockset and the lock being above the locking face, 14L, of the knuckle tail.If the knuckle is then pulled open by a previously coupled car movingaway, the lock will ride on the tail of the knuckle and the enlargement,14, of the knuckle tail will contact the ledge, 15, of the lifter, thusforcing the lifter from the lock-set and permitting it to drop to normalunexposed position. Upon the return of the knuckle to locked position,the locking block, 18, will fall by gravity to the position shown inFig. 1. The initial movement of the lifter lifts the rear portion of thelock rocking it upon the vertical rib, 10, and freeing it from theanti-creeping ledge, 10, to permit its upward movement. If it be desiredto throw the knuckle open by means of the lifter, the operator continuesthe lifting movement and the depending foot, 18, of the lock contactsthe cam surface, 1st, upon the tail of the knuckle, thus opening theknuckle. After the opening movement is completed and upon the release ofthe lifter, it will fall by gravity to the normal unexposed position ofFig. 1, the lock and opener meantime being supported by the tail of theknuckle.

There are'advantages in combining the opener and lock. First, the lockhas necessarily a substantial body of metal in order to resist the drafton the knuckle, while the lifter does not necessarily have any greaterstrength than is required to lift the weight of the lock unless it alsocarries the opener. lVhen the opener and lifter are made in one piecethe entire lifter must be made strong because the strain in openingcomes upon the lifter below its midlength, the fulcrum being the topwall of the coupler head surrounding the lifter opening. \Vhen theopener is formed as a part of the lock, the combined lock and lifter maybe made mass ive so as to avoid danger of breaking and the litter isapplied to the lock itself above the lifter, and the lock and lifter areguided by the rib on the coupler head so that the opening of the knuckleis effected without strain on the movable parts.

Without limiting my invention to the precise structural details, Iclaim:

1. A lock lifter, having a lock-setting member and adapted to lift thelock to release the knuckle and to drop back to normal unexposedposition when the knuckle is open, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a coupler head having a vertical guide rib andan inclined ledge or seat of a combined lock and knuckle opener.

3. In a coupler a coupler head and a pivoted knuckle therefor, incombination with an integral lock and knuckle opener and a combinedlifter and lockset for lifting said lock and opener, and locksetting thesame.

4. A coupler of the class described, comprising a head and a pivotedknuckle, in combination with an integral lock and opener, anti-creepingmeans applied directly to said lock and opener, and a combined lifterand lockset for lifting said lock and opener and locksetting said lock.

5. A coupler of the class described, comprising a head having a pivotedknuckle therein, in combination with a combined lock and knuckle openerguided upon a rib within. said head, anti-creeping means applieddirectly to said lock, and a lifter for said lock and opener.

6. A coupler comprising a head and a pivoted knuckle, in combinationwith a combined lock and knuckle opener, and a lifter for said lock andopener, said lifter being adapted to return to normal unexposed positionafter the knuckle is opened, substantially described.

7. A coupler of the class described comprising a head and a pivotedknuckle therein, in combination with a combined lock and knuckle throwerguided upon a rib within said head, a lifter and lockset, said lifterbeing adapted to first lift the rear of said lock to free it from itsanti-creeping provisions, substantially as described.

8. A coupler of the class described having a head and a knuckle pivotedtherein, in combination with a combined lock and knuckle opener adaptedfor vertical and rocking movement on a rib within said head, a combinedlifter and lockset, said lifter being adapted to rock the look upon saidrib to free the lock from its anti-creeping provisions.

ROBERT E. L. JANNEY. Witnesses N. T. QUAD), Tnos. F. MURRAY.

